According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit alleges that a pilot called Square One is the true basis of the New Girl concept.

Based on the real life breakup of writer Stephanie Counts and co-written by Shari Gould, the suit claims their screenplay was used without their knowledge or permission by Fox, WME, and New Girl creator Elizabeth Meriwether.

The lawsuit states: "Any differences between the Square One scripts and New Girl are so small and insignificant that they cannot be afforded copyright protection, and are, in fact, nothing more than transparent attempts to hide Defendants' blatant plagiarism.

"These differences are more akin to eraser marks or ink blots on Stephanie and Shari's creation and cannot be treated as original expression."